Shloka 11
Nārada–Vāyu–Śalmali Upākhyāna: Enmity with the Strong and the Primacy of Buddhi (नारद-वायु-शल्मलि उपाख्यानम्)
रुधिरस्थेव ते गन्ध: शवस्येव च दर्शनम् । अशिव: शिवसंकाशो मृतो जीवन्निवाटसि,“तुमसे रुधिरकी-सी गन्ध निकलती है। तेरा दर्शन वैसा ही है, जैसा मुर्देका दीखना। तू देखनेमें मंगलमय है; परंतु है अमंगलरूप। वास्तवमें तू मर चुका; परंतु जीवित की भाँति घूम रहा है
rudhirastha iva te gandhaḥ śavasyeva ca darśanam | aśivaḥ śiva-saṅkāśo mṛto jīvann ivāṭasi ||
قال بهيشما: «تلتصق بك رائحةٌ كَرائحة الدم المتخثّر، ومنظرك كمنظر الجُثّة. وإن بدا عليك في الظاهر سِمَةُ اليُمن، فأنت في الحقيقة نَحسٌ. إنك في الواقع ميتٌ منذ زمن، ومع ذلك تطوف كأنك حيّ.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
Outward respectability or a show of auspiciousness cannot conceal inner moral decay. When one’s conduct becomes stained by grave wrongdoing, one is ‘dead’ in ethical-spiritual terms—moving about bodily alive but cut off from true well-being and dharma.
Bhīṣma delivers a harsh moral denunciation, describing the addressed person as reeking of blood and looking like a corpse—an image meant to expose hidden guilt and the inauspicious state produced by violent or unrighteous deeds, despite any outwardly pleasing appearance.